An eczema sufferer has claimed a body scrub made from a type of coffee bean has helped to dramatically improve her skin in just one month.

Lydia Finnegan, 27, from London, told how eczema hit her ‘like a ton of bricks’ and added that it spiralled to the point where she had no control.

‘Every part of my body was covered in red raw, itchy, flaky, bleeding, blistered hell, and I mean every part,’ she explained.

But after trying to uptake a clean skincare regime alongside various other lifestyle changes, Lydia found an unlikely solution in the form of Grounded Coffee Body Scrub, which retails for £15.

Lydia Finnegan, 27, from London, has claimed a £15 Grounded Coffee Body Scrub helped dramatically improve her skin in just one month

The eczema sufferer told how her skin became severely affected by the condition in 2015, when she was 24-years-old. Pictured, at its worst

Lydia has since continued to focus on her new healthy, controlled lifestyle (pictured now) and her skin is glowing

Lydia admits that she never had ‘perfect skin’ throughout her teens, but one thing she never suffered from was eczema.

So when her skin became infected with the condition when she hit 24-years-old, her life started to change.

‘I just remember looking at myself in the mirror, sitting in tears thinking my skin would be like this forever,’ she explained. ‘I’d definitely lost all hope.’

‘I could barely wear clothes, I couldn’t walk or move properly, I hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours a night in three months.

‘I was cut all over but I was so itchy, so I couldn’t help but scratch more. She didn’t feel good at all, becoming more serious, stressed and overcome with many emotions – and she even suffered from depression and anxiety.

Recalling memories of how serious her flare ups were, Lydia continued: ‘Two years ago today I stayed at my sister’s place. I wore gloves in bed to try and prevent myself from scratching – but I obviously couldn’t help it.

At her worst (pictured), Lydia recalled: ‘I just remember looking at myself in the mirror sitting in tears thinking my skin would be like this forever and had definitely lost all hope’

The 27-year-old told how she could barely wear clothes, couldn’t walk or move properly, and hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours a night in three months. Pictured, the eczema at its worst

Lydia, who now talks about her skin condition online, said: ‘If my blog post helps even just one person, I will be happy – Inspiring others that it will get better!’

‘We shared a bed and we both barely slept throughout the night. She would be so strict with me and not let me scratch, and every time I scratched she’d wake up and hold my hands.’

The coffee based scrub features anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic and anti-septic properties (pictured)

‘I was crying in agony, but also trying to convince her it was OK.’

‘I ended up going to the bathroom and ripping my body to shreds – I could not control the itch.’

‘I woke up at 7am after sleeping for an hour or so and took a picture.

‘I was in complete shock and dismay. But I didn’t want my sister to know I was struggling or that it was a big deal – because I truly thought I’d be like this forever and I couldn’t see a way out.’

Instead, an exhausted Lydia got dressed, tried to put make up on and went to work – ready to do it all again.

‘My face wasn’t patchy because every inch was covered in red raw eczema,’ she said. ‘I wish I took more pictures because it’s amazing to see how far I’ve come.’

‘I even get anxiety looking at old snaps and remember how much I was suffering and how pained my family were to see me going through it.’

Lydia told how she tried every possible cure during a two-year period to try and get rid of the skin condition – but her body was too infected by that point and it’d just come back. Pictured, the skin condition at its worst

In January, Lydia overhauled her lifestyle during Veganuary, before exfoliating with the body scrub twice a weak. Pictured, with her improved skin

Lydia told how she tried every possible cure during a two-year period to try and get rid of the skin condition – including phototherapy, which ‘burned a layer of skin off,’ and Chinese herbal medicine which she says was ‘just expensive.’

She also had several blood tests, allergy tests, elimination diets, a skin biopsy, yoga, meditation.

But while the steroid creams temporarily helped, her eczema was too aggressive and infected at that stage, and it quickly came creeping back.

But in January 2018, Lydia became determined to sort out her skin and overhauled her lifestyle during Veganuary, completely switching to a Vegan Diet and using clean natural based skincare.

She used the Grounded Body Scrub in Grapefruit – a coffee based scrub with anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic and anti-septic properties – and oat-based moisturiser Aveeno.

The condition cause Lydia to become stressed and overcome with many emotions, and she even suffered from depression and anxiety. Pictured, one of Lydia’s flare ups

The former eczema suffered explained how every part of her body was covered in red raw, itchy, flaky, bleeding, blistered hell. Pictured, at its worst

Her skin started to become consistently better and healed at long last, giving her respite from the itching and scratching.

HOW DOES THE COFFEE BODY SCRUB IT WORK?

Well first of all there’s the exfoliation, eczema and dry skin in general causes skin to shed and quickly leaving flaky, dry and uncomfortable skin.

The Robusta coffee granules, sugar and salt help to gently buff away dead skin which gets in the way of the skin healing.

The reason this is so beneficial is because the process of clearing away the top dead layer of skin allows the moisturising oils to easily penetrate the skin.

When eczema is not exfoliated the dead skin will end up clogging the pores and trapping dirt and grime within it, leading to eczema flare up and infection – this can be a vicious circle for sufferers.

The salt also serves another purpose which is to cleanse and heal infected skin and kills bacteria with its anti-bacterial properties.

This is crucial when dealing with a broken skin barrier; which if left can easily become inflamed and infected if not cleaned.

The scrubs also contain nourishing oils such as Vitamin E, Sweet Almond Oil and Coconut Oil so your skin get hydration, vitamins and minerals needed to allow healthy, gorgeous and smooth skin to grow through.

The company recommend you patch test 24 hours before use to make sure your skin isn’t sensitive to any of the ingredients, then use the scrub three times per week on your body.

Follow with a moisturiser.

‘Twice a week I exfoliate with Grounded Body Scrub,’ explained Lydia.

‘This scrub was on Dragon’s Den – a guy made this to treat his girlfriends eczema and it worked!’

‘I use the grapefruit one – it is the least harsh texture and smells amazing.’

‘It is full of vitamins and moisturising ingredients.’

‘The coffee/salt exfoliates any dry skin if I leave it on 5+ minutes, I notice instantly smoother skin.’

She continued: ‘The Aveeno moisturiser I use can sometimes build up on your skin after multiple applications rather than fully soaking in (which I like for eczema because it acts as a good barrier), so exfoliating every few days is a great way to get rid of any excess dirt/skin/products on your body and then you can start again.’

‘Be super gentle when you put it on though. It feels great to itch with, so you can irritate your skin by over-doing it.’

Much to her delight, Lydia’s skin started to glow after one month, and she has since continued to focus on her new healthy, controlled lifestyle.

Her eczema, which had affected her entire daily life at times improved, and finally she got her confidence, comfort, happiness and her mental health back.

Despite suffering a great deal, Lydia now uses her social media and blog, Itchie-Scratchie, and her Instagram @_lydslife, as a platform to raise awareness to help other sufferers.

‘If my blog post helps even just one person, I will be happy – Inspiring others that it will get better!’ she said.

Controlling her eczema has been a huge, tough and emotional journey for Lydia, who has documented it in her blog, Itchie-Scratchie. Pictured, with her clear skin

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